


One Scoop, Two Scoop (Red Scoop, Blue Scoop)

by kyuthighs



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, both of them love a challenge, do not attempt to eat this ice cream at home, enamored customer chanyeol, ice cream shop owner jongdae, no tastebuds were harmed in the making of this fic, puns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-13 23:52:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19261699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyuthighs/pseuds/kyuthighs
Summary: "I dare you to order it and eat it all. If you do, your next order is free.”Chanyeol narrowed his eyes, studying Jongdae. His eyes were bright with mischief, and his smirk was something dangerous. Jongdae cocked his head to the side.“Or not,” he challenged, “I get it if you can’t.”Or the fic in which Jongdae owns an ice cream shop, Chanyeol is stubborn and whipped, and his tastebuds suffer for it.





	One Scoop, Two Scoop (Red Scoop, Blue Scoop)

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt Petal:** #81  
>  **Author's Note:** Thank you to the prompter who enabled me to write stupid ice cream puns and references to my heart's content - I hope you enjoy the fic! Also thank you to my darling for being my beta, and to my two non kpop friends who read over this to give me an outsider's opinion. And finally, thank you to mod honeybee for running this and giving me the extra time i needed!

Chanyeol never really had the time to properly explore the city he called home for the past year. Between planning lessons, teaching said lessons, and offering out of class lessons for both guitar and piano, walking down the shop filled streets never never made it into his schedule. So when summer rolled around and most of the town’s population left to go back home, Chanyeol took the time to see what he had been missing out on.

He took to the streets on a Friday afternoon, heading deeper into the heart of downtown. He never ventured any further than a block from his apartment and only ever went that far because his favorite sandwich shop was there. Chanyeol was glad to see that, like the sandwich shop, each business along the main street seemed to have carved out their own special place. While the main street was great, Chanyeol soon realized that the magic of the college town rested in its side streets.

He turned down Ninth Street, spotting a quaint used bookstore. Across the street was an antique vintage store with two stories. He found several quirky cafes with interesting menus that he told himself he would try one day. By this time, the sun had risen higher and grown hotter, and his skin was starting to prickle with sweat. 

A few storefronts down from where Chanyeol currently stood was an awful green front with the name “Sparky’s Handcrafted Ice Cream” in big, bold white letters. He decided a little frozen pick me up was just what he needed. He crossed the empty street, and the bell above the door jingled as he pulled it open.

The inside of the shop was just as bold and unusual as the outside. The walls were painted a loud purple and pictures of varying sizes and content took up every inch of them. It was small, with only a few tables - all with mismatched chairs. It was an absolutely and completely god awful design hell. 

Chanyeol loved it. And when he spotted the worker behind the counter, he vowed that this place would become his favorite regular spot.

“Welcome to Sparky’s,” the man smiled at him, “What can I get for you today?”

Chanyeol smiled back, admiring the way the man’s lips curved into a grin. He scanned the case housing the different flavors in front of him. Wow. That was a lot.

“Uh it’s actually my first time here,” Chanyeol admitted.

“Oh! Well let me know if you want to taste any of the flavors. I’d be glad to get you a spoon.”

“Thanks. What’s your most popular flavor?” Chanyeol asked.

The man pointed to one of the tubs in the case, “Lately our mint chocolate chip is selling pretty well. Would you like to try it?”

Chanyeol made a face before he could stop himself. “What’s your second most popular flavor?”

The man laughed at Chanyeol’s wrinkled nose. 

“Not a mint chocolate fan I’m guessing?” His crinkled eyes held a teasing look.

“No,” Chanyeol said bluntly, “It tastes like toothpaste, and I already brushed my teeth.”

A small glow of warmth made its way to Chanyeol’s chest when his reply got another laugh out of the worker. 

It was a nice laugh.

“I’d have to argue with that, but,” the man said, “to each their own. Though I am wondering what brand of toothpaste you use to think that.”

It was Chanyeol’s turn to let out a chuckle.

“Since you don’t like mint chocolate, I’d recommend the Triple Chocolate Batter Swirl.” The man said.

That did sound really good. “I’ll take a medium cup of that then.”

“Coming right up.”

The worker scooped Chanyeol’s ice cream into a bright pink bowl. He grabbed an equally bright yellow plastic spoon, and stuck it in. 

“That’ll be $3.75. Would you like your receipt?”

Chanyeol shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. Thank you.”

He stuck two loose dollar bills he found in his wallet in the jar that read “We know when you don’t tip” with two wide eyes badly drawn on it. Sure the two dollars could’ve gone to a coffee or something, but the wide smile that stretched across the man’s face was better than anything else Chanyeol could’ve spent the money on.

“Thank you so much!” The man said and Chanyeol grabbed his cup of ice cream and a napkin. “Have a great day.”

Chanyeol smiled, “It’s no problem. And you too.”

Chanyeol turned away, the bell on the door signalling his departure. It wasn’t until he was a block away from his apartment, his remaining ice cream a puddle in the bottom of his cup, that Chanyeol realized he never caught a glance at the man’s name tag. _Well_ , Chanyeol thought, _guess I’ll just have to go back soon_.

*******

Chanyeol held out against his desire to learn the man’s name for almost a whole week. He was pretty proud of himself for the small accomplishment. He walked to the Ninth street ice cream shop on Wednesday, hoping the whole way that the guy was actually, you know, working. When the bell dangled over his head he was pleased to see the same curling smile greeting him.

“Hi, welcome to Sparky’s!” The man called out, busy with the customers in front of him.

Standing in line behind a woman, Chanyeol observed the man work. In a totally non creepy way. Chanyeol wasn’t weird, okay? He just liked looking at the man’s forearms as he scooped the frozen ice cream and seeing his little smile as the customers thanked him. Totally not weird.

It was the woman’s turn to order, and Chanyeol couldn’t help the look of disgust he made behind her back. What kind of person orders a cup of half mint chocolate chip half caramel butterscotchhiato? Those are literally the two worst flavors.

He schooled his face when the woman turned around with her order, glad to see that she was taking it to go so he wouldn’t have to deal with the offensive cup in his proximity.

Stepping to the counter, Chanyeol tried to subtlety check for a nametag. _Jongdae_. Beautiful. A perfect name for the beautiful man. 

If Jongdae’s raised eyebrows were any indication, Chanyeol was apparently not as subtle as he had hoped. Chanyeol let out an awkward cough.  
“Hi. Again.” Jongdae said. “I see you came back.”

 _Oh my god, he remembers me_ , Chanyeol thought.

“Yeah,” he said, “the ice cream was really good so...”

“Thank you.” Jongdae said with a faint blush on his cheeks. “What can I get for you today?”

“Definitely not what the lady before me got.”

Jongdae chuckled. “That’s right. You’re a mint chocolate hater.”

“And caramel hater. And butterscotch hater.”

Jongdae shook his head, “That must be the ice cream of your nightmares then.”

“Yeah, in fact, just last night I had a nightmare where a cone of that combo chased me off the side of a cliff.” Chanyeol joked. “Woke up in a cold sweat. I’m traumatized.”

Jongdae laughed, and Chanyeol was glad the customers had thinned out. They would have heard the way his heart thumped at Jongdae’s melodic laughter and dazzling smile. He didn’t need anyone to know just how enamored he was with somebody he just learned the name of.

“I’ll admit, it’s not the most...conventional combination,” said Jongdae, “but she’s pregnant, so she gets a pass.”

“Ahhh,” Chanyeol nodded, “that makes more sense.”

“Yep, she comes in every Wednesday and orders the same thing. I told her she needs to name her baby after the flavor.”

Chanyeol chuckled.

“Well, I’m not pregnant, surprise, and there’s very few things I would refuse to do, but eating a cup of that is a hard no.”

“Really? Even if someone dared you or you got money or something for eating it?” Jongdae wondered.

Chanyeol hummed in contemplation. He never did like to back down from a dare, and money was always nice. “I mean, if you put it that way. I hate losing and love money so I think I could suffer and do it.”

Jongdae grinned, “Alright then. I dare you to order it and eat it all. If you do, your next order is free.”

Chanyeol narrowed his eyes, studying Jongdae. His eyes were bright with mischief, and his smirk was something dangerous. Jongdae cocked his head to the side.

“Or not,” he challenged, “I get it if you can’t.”

Well. Who was Chanyeol to back down from a challenge. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and slammed his card down on the counter.

“Give me the cup.”

Jongdae’s smirk grew impossibly wider as he scooped the ice cream into the cup and handed it to Chanyeol. 

“That’ll be $3.75. Would you like a receipt?”

“No, thanks.” Chanyeol said, defiantly taking the cup.

“And don’t forget the spoon,” Jongdae smiled, offering a neon green spoon. 

Chanyeol took the spoon, and ignored the way his stomach fluttered when he brushed Jongdae’s fingers. He sat at a table with his back to the counter so Jongdae wouldn’t be able to see the unattractive face he was sure to make.

He lifted the spoon to his mouth, and took the first bite. It was terrible. Terrible but bearable. The macchiato flavor helped cover the pure disgustingness of the others. It wasn’t enough to make it taste good or stop his face from scrunching up, but at least he wouldn’t lose after talking big.

He continued to eat, occasionally feeling Jongdae’s eyes on him. He tried to will his ears not to turn red when that happened. Soon enough, the cup was empty, and Chanyeol was desperate for mouthwash.

Chanyeol brought his empty cup to Jongdae as proof of his achievement.

“That wasn’t that hard.”

“No? I’ll admit, I’m surprised.”

Chanyeol shrugged. “I told you I could take anything.”

“Yeah,”Jongdae said thoughtfully, “yeah, you did.”

Jongdae handed him a piece of receipt paper with the words “FREE CUP OF ICE CREAM because I wasn’t a weenie” scribbled on it and stars doodled on the edges. 

“Here’s your coupon. I’m Jongdae, by the way,” he said, “though I think you already figured that out by reading my nametag earlier.”

Chanyeol could feel his ears heat up. “I’m Chanyeol.” He said. In a cool way. Not a lame way. Just to clarify.

“Nice to meet you, Chanyeol.”

Oh. Wow. Jongdae’s voice sounded so nice saying Chanyeol’s name.

“Come back soon so you can use that coupon to get something you’ll actually like,” Jongdae teased.

If Chanyeol was a cool person who knew how to say cool things, he would’ve said something like “Can it be used to get a free phone number?” 

But Chanyeol was not cool, no matter how hard he tried to convince people he was, so what came out of his mouth instead was a lame “I will. Have a great day.”

And yeah, he did lie on his floor for three hours, hitting himself over not saying something more suave. _Next time_ , he thought, _next time I will say something so cool that he falls in love with me_.

Well, the next time Chanyeol went was on Friday, and people filed in behind him, so he didn’t have time for flirting. He simply smiled as he handed over his coupon, and Jongdae handed him a cup of Candied Cotton Candy. The ice cream was sweet and delicious, but it would’ve tasted even better if no one was there except him and Jongdae’s sugared smile.

He went back on Tuesday, and was pleased to see the place was empty. Jongdae saw him enter, and pulled a small chalkboard out from behind the counter. He placed it next to the register and smiled proudly.

“TODAY’S CHANYEOL SPECIAL:

_**~Strawbasabi~** _

Finish it and get another free coupon :)”

Chanyeol stared at the board in disbelief. His eyes flicked to Jongdae who was looking at him expectantly.

“What?” Chanyeol asked.

“I don’t know about you, but things get kinda boring around here during summer.” Jongdae explained, “So I was thinking we could have a little challenge. Since, you know, you claim to be able to win any challenge.”

Suddenly Chanyeol understood. “I see. You want me to eat whatever ice cream you throw at me?”

“I don’t want you to. I _dare_ you to.”

“You know you’re going to lose, right?” Chanyeol taunted.

“I’m not so sure about that.” Jongdae said confidently.

Chanyeol took a five out of his wallet. “Keep the change.”

Jongdae smiled and scooped the specialized ice cream out of its own little container. Chanyeol didn’t know if he should be scared or flattered that Jongdae made a personal batch of ice cream just for him. He was a healthy mixture of both.

“And don’t forget the spoon,”Jongdae said, putting a glowing orange spoon into the cup and passing it to Chanyeol.

The strawberry and wasabi ice cream was far worse than the combination he was dared to eat last time. His entire mouth was on fire, and even though he was eating something frozen, Chanyeol felt like he was on fire. It wasn’t helping that Jongdae was making small talk with him as the shop was empty, and he was being forced to act like his tongue wasn’t numb when responding. Nevertheless, he soldiered through and finished this cup as well.

Jongdae gave a whistle as he eyed the empty cup. 

“I’m impressed. Though also kind of glad.” Jongdae said. “It’d suck if our game ended here.”

That made Chanyeol feel some type of way, and he was likely to spend hours overanalyzing what that could mean.

“I’ll take one free coupon, please.” Chanyeol held out his hand.

Chuckling, Jongdae handed Chanyeol another piece of receipt paper.

“See you next time, Chanyeol.” Jongdae waved as Chanyeol took his leave.

And so it began. 

Chanyeol found himself visiting Sparky’s twice a week. Once on Friday’s after he was done teaching summer piano lessons for the day. Those were the days he used his free coupon for something tasty. After trying a few different flavors, he had picked the Candied Cotton Candy ice cream as his favorite. A cup of that along with Jongdae’s warm personality was just what Chanyeol needed after listening to children hit wrong note after wrong note.

He’d go again on Tuesdays at 2pm. After he ate lunch and before his guitar lessons started. It was on Tuesdays that it was usually just him and Jongdae. Jongdae would pull the chalkboard out from hiding, and Chanyeol would warily read the chosen flavor. Jongdae wasn’t pulling any punches. Chanyeol suffered through flavors like BBQ Brownie (thank God for the brownie chunks), Cotton Candy Corn (actual corn, not the candy), and _mustard_ (exactly what it sounded like).

Chanyeol’s tastebuds screamed in protest with every bite, but he always ended with an empty cup and a new coupon. Despite feeling like actual death after every bad cup, Chanyeol loved Tuesdays. He loved the way the shop was empty most of the time. There were the few stragglers who came by - Chanyeol’s favorites were the kids with pocket money whom Jongdae always gave extra sprinkles to.

He loved getting to talk to Jongdae between sickening bites. Loved how he learned that Jongdae actually used to be an electrical engineering major who quit that field to do something more fun and people friendly. Loved learning that that’s how Sparky’s came to be named. Loved how he learned about Jongdae’s likes and dislikes, his hobbies, his family. Loved how Jongdae learned that stuff about Chanyeol too. 

So yeah, Tuesdays were the best day of the week for Chanyeol. He hoped they were the best for Jongdae.

It was one of the final Tuesdays of summer. It was a beautiful day. The skies were clear, the sun was warm, and the air smelled sweet. Chanyeol’s walk to Jongdae’s shop was pleasant. He waved to familiar faces and even got to pet a dog. Things were great. 

Emphasis on _were_.

There were a lot of things Chanyeol could handle. He could handle his mother and sister ambushing him every holiday about marriage. He could handle tone deaf children trying to learn the piano. He could handle being Baekhyun’s best friend. There wasn’t much life could throw at him that he _couldn’t_ handle. 

He thought he could handle whatever Jongdae threw at him. No matter what flavor Jongdae tortured him with once a week, Chanyeol always finished the scoop and came back the next Tuesday. Maybe that made Chanyeol some kind of masochist, but Jongdae could serve him literal scorpions and Chanyeol would eat them. He was as whipped as the cream that came on Jongdae’s famous sundaes. 

So when Jongdae showed him the special of the week, the one he only gave to Chanyeol, with a glint in his eye daring him to refuse, Chanyeol only had one option really. He ordered the soy mint chocolate chip ice cream even though he despised mint chocolate. A fact that Jongdae knew and was now using against him.

“This is a low blow, Jongdae.” Chanyeol said as he watched Jongdae grab a cup with a wild grin  
on his face.

“All’s fair in love and war and ice cream.” Jongdae shot back, scooping a spoonful of the dreadful ice cream out of its small tub.

Jongdae set the cup of ice cream on the counter in front of Chanyeol. Chanyeol reached for his wallet to pull out the usual $3.75, but Jongdae waved him off.

“Don’t worry about this one. It’s on the house,” he smirked.

Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at him. “Are you that confident this’ll be the one I lose?”

“Extremely confident.”

Chanyeol hardened his gaze at the wicked look Jongdae was giving him. A small part in the back of his mind was telling him that this was a bad idea, but he wasn’t going to let those weeks of suffering through flavors like _mustard_ go to waste. Like hell he’d lose to some mint chocolate ice cream made with soy milk.

He slowly reached for the cup, eyes never leaving Jongdae. Once it was in his hand, Chanyeol felt like something was off. The color seemed a little… darker than it should be. Chanyeol narrowed his eyes even further.

“Oh,” Jongdae said before Chanyeol could turn to his table, “don’t forget the spoon.” He smiled sweetly as he stuck a bright pink spoon into the cup.

Chanyeol made his way to his usual table, eyeing the ice cream warily. He could feel Jongdae’s eyes on his back. Usually feeling Jongdae watching him made his heart flutter, but today it made him want to break out in a cold sweat. His mind was screaming at him to abort the mission. Chanyeol, however, was stubborn, and he was not going to lose.

He sat down and gave one last glance to Jongdae who waved his fingers at him. _Cute_ , Chanyeol thought, _but you won’t win_. 

Chanyeol brought a spoonful of the ice cream to his lips, and before he even opened his mouth he could hear his tastebuds screaming at him. He paused for a brief moment, then shoved the spoon into his mouth.

Death.

Chanyeol wanted death. He wanted to die so he could stop tasting what he was tasting. He wanted to scream. Jongdae hadn’t made just any mint chocolate chip ice cream with soy milk. 

No. 

The “soy” stood for soy sauce. 

Not soy milk. 

Horror filled Chanyeol as his senses were assaulted.

He tried to swallow, to get it over with, but his throat was glued shut. His body was physically rejecting the ice cream. He was going to throw up if it remained in his mouth any longer. He was thankful no other customers were in the shop as he spit out the melted ice cream and scrubbed his tongue with a napkin. Chanyeol could hear Jongdae’s laugh ring through the shop.

“Are you serious?” Chanyeol practically yelled. “Soy sauce?!”

Jongdae only laughed harder. If Chanyeol wasn’t mourning the loss of his tastebuds he would find Jongdae’s laughter completely endearing.

Chanyeol threw his hands up. “You win! I give up! I can’t eat that.” Those were words Chanyeol thought he would never say, yet here he was. 

Jongdae wiped a tear from his eye, his whole face lit up from laughing.

“About time,” he said, “I was almost running out of ideas. To be honest, I thought I was going to get you with the mustard ice cream. I can’t believe you ate all of that.”

Chanyeol could only stand there, mouth still crying.

Jongdae must’ve sensed his despair because he started shuffling behind the counter, making a new cup for Chanyeol. 

“Here,” Jongdae said, offering the new ice cream to Chanyeol as a sign of peace, “it’s the Candied Cotton Candy. Your favorite. My treat.”

Chanyeol’s heart clenched. _He remembered my favorite flavor_. Suddenly, the betrayal of the soy sauce and mint combination didn’t matter as much. Chanyeol took the offered cup. 

“Thanks.” Chanyeol said.

Jongdae gave him a real smile. The one that Chanyeol loved. The one that made his mouth curl up and eyes crinkle. 

“It’s the least I could do after making you suffer every week.”

Chanyeol hummed and thought about all the time he spent in Jongdae’s shop. “I didn’t really suffer.”

“No?” Jongdae asked, his eyes staring straight into Chanyeol’s soul.

Chanyeol could feel the blush threatening to heat his cheeks.

“Nah,” he said. After all, Chanyeol thought it was impossible for anybody to suffer in Jongdae’s presence. It would be like suffering on a warm, breezy summer afternoon when all your responsibilities didn’t matter - unrealistic. 

“Well…” Jongdae said slowly, “If it wasn’t all that bad, would you be up for another challenge?”

Chanyeol raised his eyebrows, “Are you just gonna jump straight into me cutting my tongue off or…”

Jongdae threw his head back and laughed. “No. I think you’ll like this challenge. Really.”

“Alright. I’ll bite.” Chanyeol said. “What is it?”

“I bet you can’t give me the best first date ever.”

Sparky’s was an ice cream joint, yet Chanyeol was the most frozen thing in the building. His brain was short circuiting. He was having an aneurysm. This was actually just a super realistic dream, and he’s going to wake up any second now because there was no way _Jongdae_ just asked him out. Adorable, hilarious, breathtaking, wonderful Jongdae _did not just ask him out_.

“Uhh earth to Chanyeol,” Jongdae said, “You good?”

Chanyeol let out a very undignified squeak.

“Oh my god, I broke him.” Jongdae said.

Chanyeol should probably take a few steps back from the case of ice cream because he’s pretty sure the blush on his entire body was hot enough to melt it.

“Listen, it’s okay if you don’t want to or if I read you wrong or something,” Jongdae began rambling, “I just think you’re really cute and also a great person and like I’d really like to spend some time with you outside of this shop when I’m not trying to kill your tastebuds, but I totally understand and respect your decision if you don’t-”

“I,” Chanyeol cut him off, “am going to give you the best first date ever in your entire life.”

The smile on Jongdae’s face lit up the entire shop. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” Chanyeol smiled back. 

“Well, I hope you don’t lose this challenge like you did with the ice cream because if you win there’s a sweet prize for you.”

If it was possible, Chanyeol’s blush would’ve deepened. 

“I won’t lose.” He promised.

“Then it’s a date.” Jongdae said. “Now eat your ice cream before it completely melts.”

“Yes, sir.” Chanyeol mock saluted as the door to Sparky’s opened to another customer. He made to turn away to sit at his table.

“Chanyeol,” Jongdae called, “don’t forget the spoon.” He smiled softly and held out an electric blue spoon which Chanyeol took.

Once he had finished his cup, Jongdae was still busy with an influx of customers. So, Chanyeol put a napkin in the tip jar that read “So we can plan what day I’m gonna win :)” along with his number. Jongdae sent him a wink as he was ringing up a woman, and Chanyeol flushed once again and stumbled over his own two feet on the way out in his embarrassment. 

Walking home, with the setting summer sun warming him, Chanyeol felt happier than the kids that Jongdae gave extra sprinkles to. 

A few days later, their schedules lined up and Chanyeol had his shot at redemption. He didn’t lose. Thankfully. And yes, his prize was sweet. Jongdae’s lips were sweeter than the biggest scoop of Candied Cotton Candy ice cream. Chanyeol might have even made his order a double scoop.


End file.
